The Color of a Warrior: Garnet

Sailor Mars knelt before the Sacred Fire in the small shrine that had been set up for her. Her gloved hands were held in a complicated hand sign; her eyes were closed and face was taut. Orange and red warmth licked at her face as she wandered deep in her meditations. A bell rung out through the palace to signal the hour changing over to midnight, and finally she opened her violet eyes. Those eyes reflected the fire with frightening intensity.

Releasing the hand sign, she looked down to the stack of cards in front of her. Her hand almost wavered as she reached out, almost hesitated above the deck, but she quickly removed the top card and turned it over. The Tower. She sucked in a sharp breath, set the card back on the stack, and tucked them away. The Tower card meant nothing but confirmation of her fears, a physical connection to the dreams she had been having.

Images flooded her mind as she stood, and she tore her eyes from the flame in an effort to stem the flow. She fought back against the screams in her mind, the visions of horror, crumbling walls and dying people everywhere, bodies littering the landscape. No amount of meditation could eradicate those visions, and she shook her head sadly as she left the shrine, her red heels clicking sharply on the floor as she walked. How fitting, these shoes the color of blood that deliver me to bring such terrifying tidings. Had Venus been there, she likely would have reminded her that it was also the color of love.

As she passed by one of the large vaulted windows her eyes flicked towards the great blue planet hanging low in the Lunar sky. The corners of her mouth tightened into a frown at that, a chord striking her heart. Earth had been the source of a good deal of trouble lately, and it was entirely possible that they would be responsible for what was to come despite the fact that the Princess was going to be very upset at the mention of it. It still had to be considered a possibility, especially since Earth had been building up their forces lately.

It had been a frustrating few weeks for her. The fire had been revealing less and less to her, and she hadn't been able to make much sense of her dreams. When she looked at Princess Serenity, she got absolutely nothing. The Queen had been very understanding about Mars's inability to provide her with council, but Mars felt something bigger was at play. It was almost as if something or someone for unknown reasons was trying to keep her from peering into the fog of the near future, of delving too deeply into the situation. It was almost disturbing, but she felt somewhat encouraged that the veil had been lifted this evening.

Suddenly something made her stop. A scent, somewhere on the air had reached her, pulling her from her reflections. The silence in the hall was overwhelming, and something tugged deep in her stomach, making bile rise in her throat. There was no sound where she was, no bustling servants, no tittering ladies, no boys chasing the cats down the hallways. Nothing at all. Then the scent reached her nose again, and her eyes widened in horror. Smoke was drifting on the air, even though she couldn't see it yet, and then she was flying, legs flashing beneath her.

Panic was rising inside her, but she fought it down. Fighting instincts were taking over, and her calmness and poise was falling away. The color rose in her cheeks, and as she felt the warmth of the fire approaching, as the sounds of battle began to reach her ears, the corners of her vision began to fill in with red. As she set her shoulder to charge the door she knew would be blocked by rubble, she knew she was running to die. For some reason, whoever it was concealing the future had decided not to hide that from her. She burst into the room, the fiery inferno consuming the world around her, and she took a fighting stance as monsters rose from the haze to rush her. At least she could make it a good, honorable death.

The ashes swirled up around her, and somewhere outside time a woman cried for forgiveness.


A/N: I wrote this because I see Rei as a beautiful person - in the manga she is intuitive and caring, and though she and Usagi bicker some she's nowhere enar as obnoxious as she is in the anime. I wanted to make a note to make some things clear in case they aren't: This takes place in the Silver Millenium (I feel that's reasonably clear). The person witholding the future is Pluto. If Mars were to know what was coming, she would do something about it, and of course Pluto is remorseful for her job. I can't wait to show you Pluto's story - it's very sad, but beautiful, as is Saturn's. Also, I know the associated gemstone here would probably be ruby, but I see Garnet as a darker, more vibrant red.